Cressingham Gardens: Summary report

Posted by Lambeth Council5sc on March 11, 2016

Lambeth Council has been consulting since autumn 2012 about the future of Cressingham Gardens estate. All five options have now been assessed together and the council’s Cabinet will be asked to endorse a recommendation to rebuild the whole estate. Residents were written to about this recommendation following an exhibition, which was held on the estate on the 19th February.

A rebuilt estate where all existing council tenants get a new home that meets their needs, at council rent levels, with a lifetime tenancy – meaning no loss of social housing.

A rebuilt estate where all existing resident homeowners have a range of options for a new affordable home on the estate, keeping the community together.

158 extra homes, 47% of which will be affordable, including at least 27 extra family-sized homes at council rent. Some homes for private rent or sale would be built to help pay for the rebuilding of the estate at a time when there is no government money for new social housing.

When is the Council Cabinet going to decide the future of Cressingham Gardens?

The Cabinet meeting which will consider Cressingham Gardens will take place at 7pm on the 21st March 2016, at Lilian Baylis Technology School, 323 Kennington Lane, SE11 5QY. This meeting is open to all members of the public. If you would like to be eligible to make a representation at this meeting you will need to contact the meeting Clerk, David Rose (drose@lambeth.gov.uk; 0207 926 1037) by Friday 18 March 2016.

The final list of speakers will be chosen by the Chair, Councillor Lib Peck, depending on the number of requests received with priority given to those representative of a group. We are also asking for any contributions to be limited to three minutes each so that all who wish to speak can have the chance.

What about the ‘People’s Plan’?

During the consultation the Council received a proposal called ‘The People’s Plan’ which Lambeth has assessed for feasibility. Following this assessment it can’t be considered a practicable option. There is a full assessment of the ‘People’s Plan’ in the Cabinet papers but a summary of the concerns raised with it are listed here:

This plan proposes new homes in underground car parks where the ceiling is too low and the homes built would fall far short of acceptable design standards.

It requires significant investment in refurbishment that the council doesn’t believe represents value for money and has rejected from the original five options from the consultation.

It has not identified any substantial sources of new funding for green retrofitting despite several years of proposing this approach.

What happens if the Cabinet accepts the recommendation in the report?

A letter informing residents of the Cabinet’s decision will be sent together with an explanation of what the decision will mean for them.

Council officers will be holding several drop-in sessions on the estate where all residents will be welcome to ask questions and discuss the plans.

The Key Guarantees will be implemented for those properties that will be replaced. You can find more information on the Key Guarantees below.

The Council will start to gather detailed household needs information from council tenants.

A development management team will be appointed who will lead on creating a plan for the new estate.

The Council will engage with the neighbours and the stakeholders about the potential impact of the regeneration of Cressingham Gardens.